Flowers are the go-to gift for matriarchs across the country on Mother’s Day, but a blooming industry of shady online shops is making it easy to turn a thoughtful gift into a disappointment.

We ordered a gorgeous-looking pastel arrangement of white roses, lavender stock, purple waxflower and assorted greenery. The total cost was $79.05 — $39.99 for the arrangement (a markdown from the regular price of $64.99), $9.99 for the vase (not included) and $19.99 for next-day delivery.

What we got instead was a wilted bouquet of fuchsia alstroemeria, white carnations, a single stem of purple daisies and a hint of baby’s breath. The only blooms that matched the description were the white roses.

Supplied/National PostWhat we ordered (left) compared to what we got (right).

We’re hardly the first ones to feel cheated by an online flower order. The internet is rife with angry reviews from customers whose purchases looked nothing like what they paid for.

While many of these websites might look like a mom and pop operation down the street, many exist purely as a middleman. Once they get an order, it’s sent over one of several wire services used by brick and mortar shops with layers of fees stripped away, leaving the receiving florist to recreate the arrangement with less money than you actually paid.

Many of the sites, like the one we used, have substitution policy, meaning that if a certain flower isn’t in stock it may be replaced with something of a similar colour, style and value. However, as in the case of our arrangement, the results may be wildly different than the photo on the website.

To find out that you paid approximately $80 for this is embarrassing for you

So how do you make sure the flowers you ordered are the ones your mom gets? We brought the arrangement to Sara Jameson, owner of Sweetpea’s florist in Toronto, to find out.

“To find out that you paid approximately $80 for this is embarrassing for you, for the person you got it, and I would think the person who actually sent this should be embarrassed,” said Jameson.

“I don’t want to use the term ‘conned,’ but you’re certainly not getting what you have expected or paid for.”

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Those online-only operations have been a thorn in the side of many florists because they advertise low prices that just don’t match reality.

“I find it frustrating because we are constantly being compared price-wise to these places,” said Jameson. “For us, we just can’t compete with that and the hard part for us is that we don’t actually have to because what’s in that photo and what you ordered are not the same thing.”

National PostSara Jameson, owner of Sweetpea's flower shop in Toronto.

The solution, she said, is research. When ordering flowers, do more research than a simple Google search. Seek out florists that showcase original designs not seen on other websites and be prepared to be flexible on your order around major gift-giving holidays like Mother’s Day. When in doubt, Jameson suggested calling a concierge at a high-end hotel for a florist recommendation — that way their reputation on the line.

And if a price looks too good to be true —like our arrangement — it probably is.

“We pay our florists as florists. I do consider my florists to be artists, they have a trained skill, they’ve learned proper mechanics, the flowers are treated properly,” said Jameson.

“The flowers that you get from us should be showpieces, should be something that you’re proud of — and that does cost money. It’s that simple.”

EDMONTON — As visitors walked Tuesday through the entrance to the Tropical Pyramid at the Muttart Conservatory, their noses were assaulted by a stench so rotten that many immediately covered their faces.

Putrella, the moniker given to Edmonton’s favourite corpse flower, was in its putrid glory after blooming a full year earlier than anticipated, about 3 a.m. Tuesday.

Thousands are flocking to the conservatory to check out the flower, billed as stinkiest flowering plant. The Muttart opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday and will remain open until 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Jade Dodd, an interpreter with the Muttart Conservatory, was visibly excited, not only to see Putrella in bloom, but to breathe in the rare raunchy smell of the corpse flower.

“If you had a fridge that was unplugged that had meat and other stuff in it, and then you waited for a month and opened it, that’s the smell of Putrella,” Dodd said. “It’s not good but it’s an interesting marvel of nature.”

Some visitors said the flower reeks of dirty diapers, stinky socks or rotting roadkill, while others weren’t bothered by the smell.

Dodd said the stench is strongest in the five hours immediately after the flower blooms. The smell is the product of a chemical reaction between the sulphur in the female flowers located deep inside the plant and the spadix growing in the middle that heats up to 37 C. ON the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, where the plant comes from, Dodd says the scent can spread up to three kilometres. The smell is designed to attract insects for pollination.

Even in the Tropical Pyramid, the stench seemed to waft away and linger in certain spots, surprising some visitors as they walked away from the plant.

“It’s a foul smell, but in some ways it’s not unfamiliar,” said Carolyn Krausher, a regular visitor to the conservatory. “It’s kind of like when your pet goes out and finds something really disgusting to roll in and you have to give them a bath really quickly.”

Greg Southam/Edmonton JournalChristiane Moquin and her son Josiah check out the Muttart Conservatory's Amorphophallus titanum.

It took 10 years of growth before Putrella finally bloomed for the first time on April 22, 2013, when thousands waited in line to experience the plant’s unique qualities. It is currently flanked by two younger corpse flowers that aren’t expected to bloom for another four to six years.

Two years ago, Barbara Howard and her husband were on vacation and missed the bloom. But for the past week, the couple has been checking in on the plant to make sure they didn’t miss. Howard was the first person at the Muttart doors Tuesday morning.

“It’s a bit unpleasant, but it’s very much worthwhile to both see it and smell it,” Howard said.

“It’s a point of pride for a lot of Edmontonians,” Dodd said. “It’s a real bragging right to say you were there. Because, really, by (Wednesday) it will be closed up. It’s so special to be able to see it open.”

Orchid Omero wondered what happened to eight of her plants — mainly geraniums, about $5 each — that disappeared from the sidewalk planter boxes near her Leslieville business.

Then Ms. Omero, the owner of Joseph’s Barber Shop & Hairstyling on Queen Street East, caught the culprits on camera — well-heeled women in their 50s and 60s — and even confronted one of them last week.

“My husband and I live upstairs and have cameras. I saw a lady trying to pick flowers out of the planters. When I got down I screamed at her… she said sorry and tried to give it back. She had a grocery bag full of other plants.”

Ms. Omero took her plant back, and has vowed to go searching the neighbourhood for the rest.

“I should have quietly followed the women to see where she lived,” she said. “Over the next week I am going to walk around and look for my plants. I’ll say ‘you have a beautiful garden’ and maybe ask for them back.”

Ms. Omera is not alone. Plant pilfering is not uncommon in Toronto and is forcing the Dundas West BIA to install multi-linugual signs warding people off.

According to the Helder Ramos, co-ordinator of the BIA, signs in three languages — English, Portuguese and Vietnamese — will warn would-be flower thieves to leave planters and hanging baskets alone.

The area suffered greatly at the hands of thieves last year, Mr. Ramos said. “Our gardeners are very anxious that these signs go up as soon as possible. They remind people that they are paying for these plants, too.”

Paul Zammit, the Nancy Eaton Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden, said it’s an ongoing issue there as well.

Three limited edition phlox had been planted last week, but the next day one of them, costing $21, was gone.

“People take cuttings or edibles such as peaches or parsley and think it’s OK, but we donate all our edibles to charity,” he said.

“I caught a lady, quite elderly, once taking cutting from a plant and it was all very innocent on her part. She was quite embarrassed when I confronted her, and so was I, but if everyone takes some there’ll be nothing left. We just like to remind people not to do it.”

The garden has signs warning people not to take things, but there is no way of policing it, said Mr. Zammit.

‘If everyone takes some there’ll be nothing left’

Some private residents have taken to putting signs in their gardens, too.

This week’s Sniff Test is Kenzo Flower in the Air ($119 for 100ml, exclusively at Hudson’s Bay). Dave Lackie and I listen on the wind and take an honest whiff.

He Says:
I’ve been particularly tough with past Kenzo fragrances so this is a pleasant surprise. I immediately smell the fresh raspberry note and the gardenia. It takes a few moments, but I soon smell the rose note which is tempered by a bit of pink pepper. But it is the white musk base that grounds it nicely. This is soft and pretty. Well done. ★★★ (out of 4)

She Says:
It could be that March (Farch!) has go ne on for what feels like months now but Flower in the Air smells like a welcome gust of spring. Not zingy, sunshine-dappled cherry blossom spring but the early moments of still-crisp air, the mingling of the last of the snow melting as a few buds start to appear. It’s a creamy rose floral – rather than optimistically sunny, it’s cool and reserved. ★★½

Related

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/life/style/sniff-test-kenzo-flower-in-the-air/feed0stdKenzo Flower in the Air 30mlSomething Borrowed: J.J. Lee on the darling buds you may wear on lapelshttp://news.nationalpost.com/life/style/something-borrowed-j-j-lee-on-the-darling-buds-you-may-wear-on-lapels
http://news.nationalpost.com/life/style/something-borrowed-j-j-lee-on-the-darling-buds-you-may-wear-on-lapels#respondFri, 21 Feb 2014 15:30:53 +0000http://life.nationalpost.com/?p=133103

Fashion is like a beach, its fads (especially the ones in womenswear) like so much flotsam and jetsam. People have to live with whatever oddities wash ashore with the tide: floral pants, harem pants, peep-toe mules, or “radiant orchid,” Pantone’s apparent colour of 2014. When the tide goes out the latest Hots! becomes the dated Nots! and sink back into the dark, watery deep until the next time.

Menswear trends, however, are different. The ebb and flow of men’s fads happens more gradually and can accumulate like driftwood. Right now men’s fashion is a crowded shoreline. Skinny, plain-front pants are in but so are wide-legged, pleated ones. Suits are still tight but slouchy ones are also hitting the runway. Anything goes.

With accessories, there’s been a tsunami of Victorian and Edwardian adornments like full-brimmed hats, bow ties, tie clips (not to be confused with clip-on ties), pocket squares, suspenders — heck, even handlebar mustaches. They’ve all hit land and have become commonplace but there’s one thing that has yet to take hold in the sartorial imagination: the buttonhole flower, aka the boutonnière.

Spotting a man on the street wearing a bloom on his lapel outside of prom or a wedding is akin to a unicorn sighting. (A very stylish unicorn.)

I rarely see them and that’s a pity, because a well-chosen flower can unleash the sexual energy of the suit. It’s been argued before but here’s an abbreviation of the symbolic concept: the suit jacket blooms out like a flower and exposes the man’s chest; the lapels are the flower petals and the tie is the, ahem, stamen. A good boutonnière unlocks this hidden sensuality.

AP Photo/Lionsgate, Murray CloseRemember the days of your youth when the possibilities were endless and the posters that filled the walls held images of the idols you wanted to be. Singer and songwriter Meredith Shaw believes in girls supporting one another to reach their dreams with the ‘Girls Who Believe Fest’ in Toronto this Wednesday.
Toronto based Meredith Shaw saw the way her song by the same name was resonating with young females and wanted to support and empower the dreams of these girls.
“The song has a bit of nostalgia to it, there is a throwback to when you were young,” said Shaw. “I think that is really the time when you think anything is possible.”
Shaw will headline the second annual festival, which she promises will be more about connecting and supporting each other and less about twerking than the average female performances as of late.
“I think there is room for it all, but there needs to be some sort of other offering that is just as cool and just as accessible and popular,” said Shaw. “I do think there needs to be some of us artists who are presenting a different point-of-view.”
Shaw, performing alongside Ladies of the Canyon and Molly Thomason, says that body image is certainly correlated to what we believe is possible as we get older.
“I think we get told and absorb a lot of things, that impact and unfortunately encourage that little voice in our heads that we all have,” said Shaw. “I think something like ‘Girls Who Believe Fest’ is a reaction to that and hopefully can stand up to that.”
As a part of supporting one another, Shaw gave young inspiring singers between eight and 16 a chance to open the festival. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJkNsI1guJg">Judged by the singing sisters</a> from ABC’s Nashville, Lennon and Maisy Stella, girls were asked to write and perform an original song and upload their entry to YouTube.
“I think I have been someone who has benefited from the mentoring and the generosity of others, both in the music industry and in my life, so I think that is a really important part of this whole thing,” said Shaw. “I really want to make sure that value exists.”
Twelve year old Jules Collarile <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChuLhaplmZI">with her song ‘Supergirl’</a> will take to the stage at The Great Hall to open the evenings festivities.
Shaw chose to benefit Girls Inc. with the proceeds due to the environment of encouragement and fearlessness they provide.
Yvette Nechvatal-Drew, executive director of Girls Incorporated of Durham, says that what Shaw is demonstrating through the festival ties in well with what the organizations does through advocacy and educational programs.
“If they see it, then they can believe it,” said Nechvatal-Drew. “Having strong female role models who support one another.”
Tickets for the all ages festival are <a href="http://www.ticketbreak.com/event_details/6712">available at Ticketbreak</a>.

Of course, finding a dandy buttonhole is the trick and a nearly impossible. At graduation ceremonies or weddings, most lapel arrangements foisted on boys and men for these special occasions tend towards travesty.

Look at any prom or nuptial photograph. Observe the odd sushi cone concoctions. What is that? Wire, pins, tape, ribbon, magnets, ferns, branches, sedges, grasses, and, maybe, just maybe, lost in there, there will an honest-to-goodness flower. They’re often heavy and clumsy to put on. And there’s the absolute overkill by design. It can make a man swear off them.

But the dark age for the buttonhole flower could end if men would follow a few of the basic principles, which I’ve cultivated with the help of Heather Logan, president of the Canadian Professional Floral Designers Association and owner of Blundell Blossoms Florist in Richmond, BC.

Here’s what you need to know about leading a boutonniere renaissance:

Learn from the masters. All the James Bonds, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart make a boutonnière look comfortable and easy.

Keep it simple. Bold, sculptural boutonnieres might look great on a table but don’t necessarily look good on a man (unless that man is half of the Colin and Justin interior design duo). Logan says, “If it’s too much there, [the flower] doesn’t get appreciated.” Instead, Logan recommends lightening the load and “keeping it clean.” I say avoid the fruit salad look. She says, “one type of flower and one colour” is good enough.

Know the code. This piece of advice about the secret language of flowers comes from a conversation I once had with Gloria Cheung of The Flower Factory in Vancouver. She warns men to be aware that different cultures assign different meanings to certain flowers and colours. It can say, “I love my mum” in one context and then say, “I wish you were dead” in another.

Ditch the rose. It doesn’t have to be a rose. No, really: don’t make it a rose. Logan’s earliest boutonnière memory is of her grandfather wearing the humble, inexpensive carnation. Carnations have sturdy stalks and hardy blooms. They can last a whole day. They may seem plain but on a man it’s handsome and incredibly photogenic.

Think outside the florist box. Another flower Logan thinks will do well is a small, just-opening peony cut “just out of the garden.” Indeed, the sprays of colour need not come from the florist. A walk down the street will result in an abundant to harvest (with the neighbours’ permission, of course). “You could do a lilac. You could do a dogwood,” suggests Logan. “Even a piece of heather would work. Just snip off the tip.”

Use the buttonhole. A pinned boutonniere always looks so lifeless. It’s very President Snow. Snow (Donald Sutherland) is the evil, despotic president in The Hunger Games films and has a penchant for hanging roses on his jacket. The stalk is exposed. The flower aligns to an unyielding vertical. He keeps his flower fresh via a fussy vial of water. All of it sits atop the fabric like a sardine nailed to a wall. The pinned flower suggests sterility, captivity, lifelessness. Instead, let it spring from the jacket and through the lapel buttonhole.

But don’t go wild. An overly large flower, like the one worn by Thomas Mulcair on election night in 2011, can be simply monstrous — as if someone has slapped an uncooked pork chop on the wearer. Remember, size, scale and proportion matter. Be subtle, not bombastic. Always consider the width of the lapel and the size of the person wearing the buttonhole. Err on the side of smallness and modesty. As Logan puts it, “It’s about accentuating the suit, not overwhelming it.”

Fashion is like a beach, its fads (especially the ones in womenswear) like so much flotsam and jetsam. People have to live with whatever oddities wash ashore with the tide: floral pants, harem pants, peep-toe mules, or “radiant orchid,” Pantone’s apparent colour of 2014. When the tide goes out the latest Hots! becomes the dated Nots! and sink back into the dark, watery deep until the next time.

Menswear trends, however, are different. The ebb and flow of men’s fads happens more gradually and can accumulate like driftwood. Right now men’s fashion is a crowded shoreline. Skinny, plain-front pants are in but so are wide-legged, pleated ones. Suits are still tight but slouchy ones are also hitting the runway. Anything goes.

With accessories, there’s been a tsunami of Victorian and Edwardian adornments like full-brimmed hats, bow ties, tie clips (not to be confused with clip-on ties), pocket squares, suspenders — heck, even handlebar mustaches. They’ve all hit land and have become commonplace but there’s one thing that has yet to take hold in the sartorial imagination: the buttonhole flower, aka the boutonnière.

Spotting a man on the street wearing a bloom on his lapel outside of prom or a wedding is akin to a unicorn sighting. (A very stylish unicorn.)

I rarely see them and that’s a pity, because a well-chosen flower can unleash the sexual energy of the suit. It’s been argued before but here’s an abbreviation of the symbolic concept: the suit jacket blooms out like a flower and exposes the man’s chest; the lapels are the flower petals and the tie is the, ahem, stamen. A good boutonnière unlocks this hidden sensuality.

AP Photo/Lionsgate, Murray CloseRemember the days of your youth when the possibilities were endless and the posters that filled the walls held images of the idols you wanted to be. Singer and songwriter Meredith Shaw believes in girls supporting one another to reach their dreams with the ‘Girls Who Believe Fest’ in Toronto this Wednesday.
Toronto based Meredith Shaw saw the way her song by the same name was resonating with young females and wanted to support and empower the dreams of these girls.
“The song has a bit of nostalgia to it, there is a throwback to when you were young,” said Shaw. “I think that is really the time when you think anything is possible.”
Shaw will headline the second annual festival, which she promises will be more about connecting and supporting each other and less about twerking than the average female performances as of late.
“I think there is room for it all, but there needs to be some sort of other offering that is just as cool and just as accessible and popular,” said Shaw. “I do think there needs to be some of us artists who are presenting a different point-of-view.”
Shaw, performing alongside Ladies of the Canyon and Molly Thomason, says that body image is certainly correlated to what we believe is possible as we get older.
“I think we get told and absorb a lot of things, that impact and unfortunately encourage that little voice in our heads that we all have,” said Shaw. “I think something like ‘Girls Who Believe Fest’ is a reaction to that and hopefully can stand up to that.”
As a part of supporting one another, Shaw gave young inspiring singers between eight and 16 a chance to open the festival. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJkNsI1guJg">Judged by the singing sisters</a> from ABC’s Nashville, Lennon and Maisy Stella, girls were asked to write and perform an original song and upload their entry to YouTube.
“I think I have been someone who has benefited from the mentoring and the generosity of others, both in the music industry and in my life, so I think that is a really important part of this whole thing,” said Shaw. “I really want to make sure that value exists.”
Twelve year old Jules Collarile <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChuLhaplmZI">with her song ‘Supergirl’</a> will take to the stage at The Great Hall to open the evenings festivities.
Shaw chose to benefit Girls Inc. with the proceeds due to the environment of encouragement and fearlessness they provide.
Yvette Nechvatal-Drew, executive director of Girls Incorporated of Durham, says that what Shaw is demonstrating through the festival ties in well with what the organizations does through advocacy and educational programs.
“If they see it, then they can believe it,” said Nechvatal-Drew. “Having strong female role models who support one another.”
Tickets for the all ages festival are <a href="http://www.ticketbreak.com/event_details/6712">available at Ticketbreak</a>.

Of course, finding a dandy buttonhole is the trick and a nearly impossible. At graduation ceremonies or weddings, most lapel arrangements foisted on boys and men for these special occasions tend towards travesty.

Look at any prom or nuptial photograph. Observe the odd sushi cone concoctions. What is that? Wire, pins, tape, ribbon, magnets, ferns, branches, sedges, grasses, and, maybe, just maybe, lost in there, there will an honest-to-goodness flower. They’re often heavy and clumsy to put on. And there’s the absolute overkill by design. It can make a man swear off them.

But the dark age for the buttonhole flower could end if men would follow a few of the basic principles, which I’ve cultivated with the help of Heather Logan, president of the Canadian Professional Floral Designers Association and owner of Blundell Blossoms Florist in Richmond, BC.

Here’s what you need to know about leading a boutonniere renaissance:

Learn from the masters. All the James Bonds, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart make a boutonnière look comfortable and easy.

Keep it simple. Bold, sculptural boutonnieres might look great on a table but don’t necessarily look good on a man (unless that man is half of the Colin and Justin interior design duo). Logan says, “If it’s too much there, [the flower] doesn’t get appreciated.” Instead, Logan recommends lightening the load and “keeping it clean.” I say avoid the fruit salad look. She says, “one type of flower and one colour” is good enough.

Know the code. This piece of advice about the secret language of flowers comes from a conversation I once had with Gloria Cheung of The Flower Factory in Vancouver. She warns men to be aware that different cultures assign different meanings to certain flowers and colours. It can say, “I love my mum” in one context and then say, “I wish you were dead” in another.

Ditch the rose. It doesn’t have to be a rose. No, really: don’t make it a rose. Logan’s earliest boutonnière memory is of her grandfather wearing the humble, inexpensive carnation. Carnations have sturdy stalks and hardy blooms. They can last a whole day. They may seem plain but on a man it’s handsome and incredibly photogenic.

Think outside the florist box. Another flower Logan thinks will do well is a small, just-opening peony cut “just out of the garden.” Indeed, the sprays of colour need not come from the florist. A walk down the street will result in an abundant to harvest (with the neighbours’ permission, of course). “You could do a lilac. You could do a dogwood,” suggests Logan. “Even a piece of heather would work. Just snip off the tip.”

Use the buttonhole. A pinned boutonniere always looks so lifeless. It’s very President Snow. Snow (Donald Sutherland) is the evil, despotic president in The Hunger Games films and has a penchant for hanging roses on his jacket. The stalk is exposed. The flower aligns to an unyielding vertical. He keeps his flower fresh via a fussy vial of water. All of it sits atop the fabric like a sardine nailed to a wall. The pinned flower suggests sterility, captivity, lifelessness. Instead, let it spring from the jacket and through the lapel buttonhole.

But don’t go wild. An overly large flower, like the one worn by Thomas Mulcair on election night in 2011, can be simply monstrous — as if someone has slapped an uncooked pork chop on the wearer. Remember, size, scale and proportion matter. Be subtle, not bombastic. Always consider the width of the lapel and the size of the person wearing the buttonhole. Err on the side of smallness and modesty. As Logan puts it, “It’s about accentuating the suit, not overwhelming it.”

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/life/style/something-borrowed-j-j-lee-on-the-darling-buds-you-may-wear-on-lapels-2/feed0stdSherlock Series 3AP Photo/Lionsgate, Murray CloseStop and smell the roses: Scent is a key way to enjoy a gardenhttp://news.nationalpost.com/homes/stop-and-smell-the-roses-scent-is-a-key-way-to-enjoy-a-garden
http://news.nationalpost.com/homes/stop-and-smell-the-roses-scent-is-a-key-way-to-enjoy-a-garden#respondSat, 20 Jul 2013 17:00:33 +0000http://life.nationalpost.com/?p=114998

I was standing in line at the grocery store the other day and a magazine headline extolling new trends in gardening caught my eye. It was specifically referring to sensory gardens and the use of fragrance.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In Victorian times, fragrance became highly desirable in the garden, but for a while, plant breeders wowed us so much with colour, form and shape that smell got lost in the stampede.

I have always been a fan of fragrance in the garden. If a flower has a wonderful scent it will win me over even if it may not be the best-looking plant in the garden. Evening scented stocks come to mind as a good example of a plant that might not be the showiest, but its fragrance more than makes up for that.

Fragrance has a special place in balcony gardens. You would not want to fill such a small space with heavily perfumed plants, but one or two fragrant specimens would be a great addition.

Here are a few annuals that look good and smell even better:

Alyssum This plant has come a long way from the white-only varieties that Victorians might have seen. Today’s colour range includes pinks, reds and even purples. The new Aphrodite series offers apricot and yellow among the colour choices. The wonderful fragrance is delicate, not overpowering.

Carnation This flower looks great and has a spicy fragrance. Plant breeders have expanded the carnation’s colour palette to include white, red, pink and yellow, as well as many bi-coloured varieties. Easy to grow and a must in any fragrance garden.

Heliotrope Also known as the cherry-pie flower — to some it smells exactly like a freshly baked cherry pie — this Victorian favourite has a heady, vanilla-like fragrance. Very showy plant with flowers ranging from white to lavender and purple. Easy to grow if kept evenly moist and will tolerate sun to partial shade.

Nicotiana The flowers of this plant — also called flowering tobacco — give off a jasmine-like fragrance that is subtle yet unmistakable. Another popular plant with the Victorians. The trumpet-like blooms come in shades of pink, white, red and pale green. Nicotiana will tolerate partial shade.

Petunias Petunias have a wonderful, subtle fragrance, making it perfect for a small garden. Its colours run the full spectrum, making it easy to find one that suits your taste or decor. Petunias will also tolerate partial shade.

I think we have forgotten what a sensory delight fragrance in the garden can be. I cannot walk through my garden without taking the time to stop and enjoy its scents. And even if you only have room for a few containers on your balcony, you can enjoy fragrance in your mini garden as well.

The Chelsea Flower Show (which runs May 21-25) in London, England, is celebrating its centennial this year. Members of the royal family will be in attendance on opening day, as usual. Also back this year are two of the original 1913 exhibiting firms, McBean’s Orchids and Blackmore & Langdon. Once the world’s largest flower show, it has been eclipsed by Hampton Court, but it can still claim to be the most prodigious. This year, one Canadian company will make quite a splash.

Royal Bank of Canada’s RBC Blue Water Roof Garden is the kind of gorgeous functional garden you’d love in your own backyard, as it incorporates art, sculpture and a wetland with flowers and trees. But this is a yard with a difference, as it is meant for Canadian rooftops — and is cutting-edge eco friendly.

Professor Nigel Dunnett and The Landscape Agency designed the roof garden. For this project, he wanted to present a “strong, positive environmental message and address negative issues about city living in an artistic way.” The negative issues he refers to are the lack of urban green space for humans to enjoy and contributing wildlife to inhabit, a waste of rooftop real estate that could be put to better use, and the waste of fresh water. His design addresses all those issues, and the result is inspiring and artistically intriguing.

In Mr. Dunnett’s “water-sensitive design,” rainwater is captured and recycled via the garden’s wetlands so that it does not contribute to urban flooding or end up in the sewer system. Gray water from the building is used to irrigate plants; the garden does not rely on the city’s water supply as it is self-supporting. And where there is water, there is wildlife.

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Urban wildlife is not only welcomed to the garden, but is actively encouraged. You can be forgiven if you cringe. Who hasn’t been vexed by bulb-ravaging, tomato-plucking, garbage-plundering and dog-stealing squirrels, raccoons, rats and coyotes? Luckily, the wildlife drawn to this garden, and able to access it, is the kind we want (contributing, not taking) and desperately need. Solitary bees, bumble bees and other necessary pollinator populations are desirable but rapidly dwindling. Mr. Dunnett encourages them not to buzz off by cleverly providing homes in the sculptures and elsewhere. Birds are also accommodated with nesting sites and boxes. Flowers welcome butterflies and hummingbirds, and ladybugs and spiders blow in on the wind. And the mini ecosystem hums along.

The design is adaptable. At the London home for the Chelsea garden, for example, specially designed tree boxes for once-abundant-and-now-rare tree sparrows will hopefully keep a few of them safely breeding.

For the humans attracted to the rooftop garden, there is a place to hide while bird-watching, benches, a boardwalk, shade and sun, an abundance of flowers, open water and the positive energy that parks, gardens and green spaces imbue.

Mr. Dunnett dressed his eco-friendly, water-friendly, urban-problem-solving garden with function, beauty and art to make it palatable, desirable and universal so that it can be adapted to existing high-rise rooftops (that are designed to bear the weight), for new buildings, and to urban yards. We will still have to contend with raccoons bathing in (wetland) pools and coyotes snatching cats from back yards, but we can all add a bat or bird house and some bee homes, and do more to capture and recycle rainwater. The knowledge and inspiration we take away from Mr. Dunnett’s design is all it takes to effect positive change.

Not many of us will get to the Chelsea Flower Show to enjoy the RBC Blue Water Roof Garden, but Toronto has many sky-high green space examples and is progressive in that regard. If we just add the water and wildlife elements, it will make the city more — and less — of an urban jungle.

The National Post re-imagines a week in the life of a newsmaker. Today, Tristin Hopper looks at the week through the “eyes” of Amorphophallus titanum, a.k.a. “the Corpse Flower”:

Monday
After a winter of hibernation, my divine metamorphosis has begun to take shape. Oh, but I pity any flora who is not me today. I am entrancing; a delicate ark of grace and beauty crafted by the very hand of God Himself. The frills of my petals rewrite history. The triumphant thrust of my spadix can reduce kings and emperors to their knees. From mere topsoil and fertilizer has arisen a creature so perfect that to see me is to view the aesthetic pinnacle of organic creation. And yet, beyond my overtures of visual majesty, I am also a biological marvel: For you see, my transfiguration is coupled with a cocktail of powerful aromas designed to lure in insects and spread my seed far and wide. It is thus that my beauty is immortal. I ask you, how can one blossom entrance so many senses at once?

Tuesday
My magnificence in full veil, the masses clamour to see me. Oh, citizens of Edmonton, do not trifle yourselves with your proletarian daisies and tulips, for in the Muttart Conservatory there is an organism of such splendour it will cause you to curse every day in which you are denied the privilege of standing in my lofty presence. I can heal the sick, tame the wicked and inspire the forlorn. It is times like these when I can truly appreciate the appropriateness of a name as glorious as “Amorphophallus.” I think it means “angel of the mountains.”

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Wednesday
This afternoon, I was appalled to hear one of the conservatory’s more imbecilic staff say that my unique aroma “smelled of dirty diapers.” Outrageous! Even more shocking, the comment elicited giggles from the assembled crowd. Giggles! These twits had witnessed nothing less than floral blasphemy, and they giggled! And it was then I realized: These legions of onlookers see me not as a totem of perfection, but as an icon to be mocked … a freak! I tell you, Edmonton, I am not your sideshow! I am not your two-bit curiosity! I am Amorphophallus titanum, the most brilliant flower on earth!

Thursday
While once I reveled in their attention, now these “admirers” are but players in my living nightmare. Oh, damn you to hell, you miserable leering proles. Curse the deity that condemned me to spend my brief days on earth in your simple-minded company. I have given you my soul, and you treat me as a mere ornament; a bit of curio to charm your vapid, Prairie lives. Most insultingly of all, I have learned that my name is not an invocation of lustre and beauty. Rather, these plebeians have seen fit to name me after their own shriveled genitalia. They gaze upon a miracle of vegetative reproduction, and yet can think only of their own crude sexual implements.

Friday
My youth expended, I can already feel the encroaching clasp of death. My petals wilt. My senses rot. I am fast collapsing into a twisted puppet of my glorious beginnings, haunted by the memory of what once was. I fear all my pollination is now to be done in the hereafter. I only pray you to bear me witness that I met my fate like a brave flower. The rest, as they say, is silence.

Edmonton hosted a rare biological event on Sunday night; as the eager city waited and watched, the Amorphophallus titanum, or “corpse flower,” bloomed. By Tuesday, it was already beginning to wilt, and growers at the capital’s Muttart Conservatory cut into its base to preserve its pollen. The tallest flower in the world and native to Sumatra, this is believed to be the first time a corpse flower has bloomed in western Canada. James McIvor, team leader at the Muttart Conservatory, has struggled to bring the rare tuber to the region for years. He explained what makes the specimen unique to Jen Gerson, the Post’s Calgary-based correspondent, who was unable to make it to Edmonton in time for the big event:

Q: So whose idea was it to bring a giant, reeking, stinking flower corpse into your conservatory?

A: That would be me.

Q: How did you get this bright idea?

A: I’ve been here for 32 years and I’ve always wanted this arum. I’ve been in search of one for the last 10 years and finally made contacts with a supplier. There was somebody growing them in Boston and we hooked up and he shipped it out last year in August along with other tubers. This tuber was 225 pounds and it was dormant, so it was ready to flower.

A: Well there was some wheeling and dealing and we had to obtain a phytosanitary certificate. Air Canada was kind enough to fly it from Boston to Toronto and from Toronto to Vancouver and Vancouver to Calgary and then we trucked it up to Calgary.

Q: What is it about this flower that is so special?

A: It’s the tallest single flower in the world. Ours has maxed out at eight feet. It has an unusual aromatic quality, which, it kind of smells like to attract carrion beetles and flies for pollination.

Q: You mean it smells like death?

A: It’s got a unique smell, like a diaper pail that’s been left out in the garbage at 30 degrees after you open the lid. Like minnows you forgot about on the boat. But that’s dissipated now. It only [pollinates] for that one night to attract beetles for pollination.

Q: Oh, I missed it?

A: Missed what?

Q: The aromatics.

A: Oh, yes.

Q: Oh.

A: There was slight smell this morning. I’m not getting too much. If you get close to it you can still get a whiff.

Q: Were you there at the height of the plant’s putridity?

A: Oh yes, I was here first thing in the morning at 5:30 a.m. and I opened the doors and I knew the [flower] was open, definitely.

Q: What was that like for you?

A: Oh, it took your breath away a little bit.

Q: I would imagine so.

A: Yeah, then I had to go in. You just hold your breath but then you get used to it after a while. We have 99% humidity and it’s 25C, so that odour just hung in the air.

A: It has a spadex, which is a tall Amorphophallus — Phallus being, well I think you know what that means. So that’s large. Then there’s the [petal] part which forms around it and that’s the part that opened on Sunday night. It’s a deep purple inside, quite stunning. [The plant also] warms to 35C.

Q: Have you touched it?

A: I’ve touched it and smelled it. Have you ever petted a dolphin? It’s raspy one way, like emery cloth.

Q: I understand the Latin translation of this name is rather amusing.

A: “Amorpho” meaning “dead,” “phallus” meaning “phallic.’ Yeah, I don’t really have to spell it out for you.

Q: This means giant dead penis?

A: Yeah, pretty much.

Q: I understand line-ups have stretched around the block to come and see this?

A: Oh yes, we stayed open until 11 p.m. last night and we maxed out at about 3,500 people. This morning it’s been the same, it’s been non-stop.

Holland does not have spectacular countryside. No dramatic cliffs or canyons, no rolling hills. It’s the flattest land I’ve ever seen and I’m from Manitoba. But the Dutch can brag about two things: extraordinary engineering prowess; half a country built under sea level — that’s some feat. And tulips.

The iconic Dutch flower, brought over from Persia via Turkey in the 15th century, was responsible for the worst economic meltdown this side of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, when Tulipomania, as the rampant bulb speculation was called, spun out of control in 1637.

Today tulips are responsible for a good chunk of the Dutch economy. And for bringing 800,000 visitors a year to Keukenhof, the annual spring garden show in Lisse, about an hour from Amsterdam.

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Sorry. Did I say two things? Correction. Once every 10 years, Holland can also vaunt Floriade. The decennial flower show is the anthophilia’s World’s Fair, the floral Disneyland. It’s at the top of every horticulturist’s bucket list. And this year is a Floriade year.

Opened April 5 and running to Oct. 7, Floriade 2012 is taking place in a specially designed, 66 hectare site in Venlo, a city in eastern Holland, about two and half hours from Amsterdam. Its organizers are expecting around two million visitors.

I’ve been waiting for Floriade since, well, the last edition, in 2002. I can’t say I’m one of those garden tourists — apparently a fast growing sector — but I do love flowers. Especially in Holland. Maybe it’s because they’re ubiquitous here — in every restaurant or museum, every insurance office you see enormous vases of cheery multi-coloured bouquets of tulips — but flowers just seem to look better in the Netherlands.

That said, the flower jam isn’t just about pretty petals. The organizers have got the edutainment angle covered, with tons of kid-friendly activities, innovation showcases and scores of environmental erudition.

And because horticulturists know how to make party, music, theatre and dance performances part of the mix. There’s a beach, and they’ve even installed giant screens on the grounds “for the Olympics and for when the Netherlands beats Spain in the Euro Cup,” as one visitor told me.

Floriade also gave me a chance to discover Venlo. The charming, if little visited, town close to the German border (the Dusseldorf airport is about 30 minutes away, much closer than Amsterdam’s Schipol) is an agri-centre, the place Holland grows many of its vegetables, including the famous white asparagus. Unsurprisingly, there are a number of good restaurants in the area.

The site that Floriade is designed on was part forest, part agricultural land. The enormous investment in infrastructure, building and landscape architecture is apparent. They’ve even mounted a cable car to give visitors an aerial view of the expanse. That sure speaks to the Dutch cult of the bulb 400 years after Tulipomania.

Hundreds of thousands of bulbs and flowers have been planted. “We planted seeds and bulbs in layers like a lasagna so there would always be something new coming up and guaranteed flowers throughout the six months of Floriade,” Mark Wijman, the hospitality manager, said.

The exhibition park comprises five unique themed worlds — Environment, World Stage, Green Engine, Education and Innovation, and Relax and Healing — connected by wooded areas. Through each visitors can sensually experience the power of horticulture in daily life.

The buildings constructed for Floriade hope to become architectural icons and promise to be a landmark of sustainability. When the fair is over, the 66-hectare landscape will become known as Venlo Green Park, one of the greenest business parks on Earth, and the intended legacy of Floriade 2012.

The most prominent is a tall arch hugging a glass tower, the contribution of famed Dutch modernist architect Jo Coenen.
My favourite was the transparent Villa Flora where the indoor flower exhibitions take place. Here I met Marcel van Dijk Oogenlust, one of the Netherlands’ top floral artists, who was arranging minimalist displays of orchids against a white wall.
In the home gardening area, an exhibit demonstrated the art of the low maintenance garden. Another, the painstaking way to construct a border garden so it looks like wildflowers.

At the food agriculture villa, I saw a group of local eight year olds taking a cooking class. “With kids we are focusing on horticulture as a career objective,” their instructor told me.

From “transforming” yourself into a bee, to making clothes out of weeds, to flower arranging workshops, Floriade isn’t just about looking at floral spectacle; it aims to be an experiential fair where you can share ideas, watch experiments and find inspiration.

If you want to just wander around and gawk at gorgeous flowers, they will let you do that, too. But you might be the only one.

IF YOU GOGetting there
Dusseldorf airport is 30 minutes from Venlo. Shuttle buses run from the Venlo train station to Floriade.
Where to eat
The restaurant at the Limburgs museum in Venlo has excellent sandwiches and Dutch specialties such as kroketten.

Where to stayL’Orangerie offers fine dining with innovative touches in a hotel chateau with a beautiful canal side setting just outside of Venlo.

What’s on the horizon for gardeners in 2012? Here are 10 plant, design and ideology trends to watch out for this year:

Shades of orange flowers and foliage: Orange has been pronounced the hue of the year by colour giant Pantone. This hot colour is echoed in some of the newest perennial cultivars: Baptisia Cherries Jubilee (in the Decadence series); Hemerocallis Primal Scream; Echinacea Flame Thrower; as well as Heuchera Delta Dawn and others.

Breakthroughs in blue: In the past 10 years, the most prominent colour in the Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of the Year has been blue (Amsonia, Baptisia, Geranium Roxanne), reflecting our love of this hue. This is great news since blue is a colour complement to orange. The plant breeders Florigene and Suntory have broken ground by introducing the new rose cultivar Applause — which is truly more like a dusky purple than a true blue — by inserting the so-called blue gene found in pansies into a Cardinal de Richelieu rose. So far only available to the cut-flower industry, this “blue” rose may make its way soon into plant nurseries.

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Stylish exotics are going to be easier to find: Exotics such as elephant’s ears (Colocasia), a wide colour range of Hibiscus and such succulents as Aeoniums are showstoppers when they’re used as features in container plantings, but are also vigorous highlights when inserted seasonally into the garden like annuals. A new company called Hort Couture will be introducing knock-’em-dead varieties of spectacular tropical plants, as well as new annuals, to independent garden retailers through JVK in Canada as of this year.

Continued interest in grasses: The recent death of Wolfgang Oehme, the German/American landscape designer and enthusiastic ambassador of ornamental grasses (as well as native prairie perennials), will hopefully push nurseries to promote some of the best older varieties, as well as introduce some new ones for their four-season qualities, ease of maintenance, native choice and natural look.

Flowering shrubs take centre stage: They’re low maintenance, easily fill larger spaces and provide flowers without the upkeep of some fussy perennials. New long-blooming and carefree varieties of hydrangea, weigela, potentilla, azalea, forsythia, hibiscus, rose, spiraea, viburnum and others will be hitting the shelves beginning in the fall of 2012, courtesy of Proven Winners (provenwinners.com).

Growing your own food: This trend among even beginner gardeners includes not only veggies and fruit, but also grapes for wine, chickens for eggs and bees for honey. Community gardens are on the rise, including those that encourage children, so we don’t have to rely on our own small private spaces to grow galloping veggies like pumpkins.

Gardening in shrinking spaces: Many of us are downsizing or choosing to live in urban situations where garden spaces are where we can make them. How to create a garden on a stoop, balcony or in a pot will be our challenge, as well as creating privacy through plantings.

Low-maintenance gardens: With aging comes weary bones and creaky joints, so perennials and shrubs that require less of our attention are becoming popular. Even gardening novices want to have a beautiful outdoor space but not to be a slave to it. But in order to know what’s best and what’s a waste of time, a recent Timber Press publication called Decoding Garden Advice: The Science Behind the 100 Most Common Recommendations by Jeff Gillman and Meleah Maynard answers the most important of those questions.

Natural and sustainable gardening: The commitment to encouraging wildlife, gardening sustainably and being chemical-free and water-wise is still, thankfully, gaining ground. A loose look achieved through the use of both native and imported plants is in demand among many gardeners. A great book for those of us living in colder climates was just published: Gardening Naturally: A ChemicalFree Handbook for the Prairies by Sara Williams and Hugh Skinner is a great resource, as is Tomorrow’s Garden: Design and Inspiration for a New Age of Sustainable Gardening by Stephen Orr.

Reusing, recycling in the garden: We are thinking twice about buying everything new and throwing it away at the end of every season: we are reusing and repurposing many of our possessions in the garden.

Red Lion is the classic, trumpet-shaped Christmas amaryllis with its big, bright red blooms.
Variations on the red theme include Furore in deep scarlet and Red Pearl with dark, almost black-red flowers. Apple Blossom is an old personal favourite in pink and white.

These days, there is much to choose from beyond this familiar flower form. Several varieties bear double flowers: Elvas is white with cherry pink flames and edges. Pasadena is red with white centre markings. Red Peacock is crimson with white accents.

There are miniatures, like the scarlet Pamela and vibrant pink Neon. Fragrance is a feature of some — Pink Floyd in cherry pink and white and the rose-pink, white-tipped Misty.

Most amaryllis bulbs bloom in eight to 10 weeks from potting, but you’ll also find at most garden centres a few of the trumpet-shaped varieties pre-treated to bloom in just four to six weeks from potting. Among these “Christmas Blooming Amaryllis” are Red Lion, Apple Blossom, Mont Blanc (white) and Bolero (dark pink).

To plant, choose a pot just slightly wider than the bulb. Position the bulb to leave the top third of its length above the soil line. Place the pot in warm room temperatures for the rooting period and keep the soil evenly moist but not wet. When top growth begins, move the pot to a bright, cool place to promote the strongest, stockiest growth possible. At a window, give the pot a quarter turn (in the same direction) daily to prevent a tipsy lean in the thick flower stalk.

Tuesday After feeding Boosh this morning, she jumps on to my bed and falls back asleep. When I enter the room to get some socks, she growls at me. Perhaps her ancient feral toy poodle ancestors guarded the sock pyramids of the pharaohs and she is obeying some primordial impulse. Just the same, I must lower the boom.

“Good girl,” I say, the treats in my pocket remaining where they are.

Boosh continues growling as I slowly inch backwards out the door.

I’ve lately been reading up on dog training through positive re-inforcement, but fear I might still be unclear on the nuts and bolts.

Wednesday Realized today that my bathroom door hasn’t been able to shut all the way in God knows how long. I guess I’ve been living alone for a long time. Maybe some day I’ll become the kind of classy older bachelor who’s comfortable buying himself flowers on the way home from work — a man who takes calèche rides through the park with his poodle while sipping cognac from a flask. In this scenario, I’m seeing a cape featured prominently. Perhaps a mini poodle cape as well.

Thursday While reading The New Yorker, I tear out a poem and slip it into my wallet. It’s where I keep the things most dear to me — photos of loved ones, inspirational quotes, pizza coupons.

As I keep my wallet in my back pocket, I must be economical in my curating, for too many meaningful things will damage my spine.
“You have accumulated too much meaning,” the chiropractor will say as I sit on the examination table looking about to tip over.

Friday I’m at a repertory theatre to watch a quadruple feature of films from the ’70s about the perils of teenage alcohol and drug abuse. The evening is called “The Downer Express Suicide Weekend” and the main feature stars a young Scott Baio as a boy who destroys his life after a puff of grass.

Before the screening begins, the programmer says a few words about the production and then the original 16 mm prints are loaded up and played.

That such a fuss is being made about such crap is life-affirming. It makes me feel good to know I live in a world where there are people who try to see the beauty in all things. Even the crap.

Inspired, I make a mental note to buy myself flowers on the way home.

Saturday Josh phones to attack my latest tweet.

“This is a courtesy call,” he says. “I didn’t want to publicly humiliate you in the Twittersphere.”

“You’re so hostile,” I say. “You should join some kind of verbal fight club where you meet with other angry white-collar types to scream at each other in underground parking lots.”

Someone should make an after-school special for adults about the perils of hostility and stress. It could star a 51-year-old Scott Baio hitting the Lipitor instead of the pipe.

Saturday I return home from the hardware store with new hinges for the bathroom door and find Boosh on the kitchen table. It appears she has eaten half my flowers.

“Good girl,” I say, fingering the treat in my pocket. We all have our way of paying homage to beauty. Even dogs.

Jonathan Goldstein is the host of WireTap on CBC Radio One, airing Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. and Thursdays at 11:30 p.m. Follow him on Twitter @J_Goldstein.